The Museum of Other Realities has been used for several events of the past year including Cannes XR Virtual and fashion exhibition The Fabric of Reality. The latest is a showcase of British virtual reality (VR) experiences ‘Immersive Arcade: The Showcase’, put together by Digital Catapult and UKRI in partnership with Kaleidoscope its completely free to enjoy.
Normally, the Museum of Other Realities is a paid app but for the couple of weeks the showcase is running you can download it for free. Supporting Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index and Windows Mixed Reality headsets, Immersive Arcade: The Showcase brings you Volume One: Realities & Dimensions, four works themed around the exploration of the human mind.
- Common Ground by Darren Emerson, East City Films
- “A VR documentary narrative exploring the history, politics and human face of the current crisis in the UK housing system. Through the brutalist concrete blocks of the notorious Aylesbury Estate, the biggest social housing estate in Europe, audiences will enter its world from its construction to its controversial redevelopment today.”
- The Invisible by Darkfield
- “Imagine you could make yourself invisible. What would you do with this remarkable talent? Could you resist the temptation to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting? If you cannot be seen, how can you be held responsible for anything? Meet the invisible man and choose your path.”
- Fly by Charlotte Mikkelborg, Novelab
- “From a multiple award-winning VR team and Oscar-winning special effects team, Fly enables you to become a time-travelling pilot – from the earliest imaginings of Leonardo da Vinci and his ornithopter, to the Wright Brothers’ success on Kitty Hawk Beach and, ultimately, into one potential future of flight.”
- Notes on Blindness by ARTE, Atlas V, Archer’s Mark, Novelab
- “In 1983, after decades of steady deterioration, John Hull became totally blind. To help him make sense of the upheaval in his life, he began documenting his experiences on audio cassettes. These original diary recordings create the basis of this interactive non-fictional narrative which is a cognitive and emotional experience of blindness.”
The Immersive Arcade: The Showcase is available until 26th March 2021 for those interested in these types of VR experiences. As this is the first volume when further additions are announced VRFocus will let you know.
We are however in America, at least, for our first example of 360 degree video this week – and it’s a pretty recent one as well. We’re back with the creative team from 360 Labs and Kaleidoscope who are looking at one of the geological marvels of the world – and one we’ve visited at least once before. But when something’s this great, one look is never enough. In the seventeen minute documentary as it is, we look at the Grand Canyon in Arizona – home of one of the United States of America’s most popular national parks.
